1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to methods, algorithms, database structures, and reports for informing consumers of changes in times and channels at which episodes of a television series are aired on television each week.
2. Related Art
A consumer of television (TV) programming may be interested in a particular series of TV programs. For example, the consumer may have previously sampled at least one individual series episode, or the consumer may have an interest in the type of content that the series itself purports to deliver. Such previous sampling interest by the consumer creates an expectation of content for other, yet-to-be-seen episodes in the same series, and allows the consumer to ensure his or her enjoyment of TV viewing time by seeking to view such series episodes. Traditionally, consumers set aside, on a weekly basis, periods of viewing time around the consistent recurrence of a series episode at a particular time of the week. Now that significantly more channels are available to the consumer, consistent schedules for series episodes, especially on commercial broadcast networks in the U.S., have become less stable as these broadcast networks alter the standard airing times as part of an overall attempt to achieve larger audiences, especially among targeted demographic groups. As a result, a series episode that is aired in a given week may be aired at a normally expected time, at another time, or not at all.
Thus, there is a need to assist the consumer to accommodate variations in the times at which episodes of a series are aired on television each week.